Hijab—question it?

I interviewed a Muslim student at a local college for the July 7 Faces of Faith profile. It was a telephone interview, in which she gave very good answers and spoke about creating awareness about Islam on her campus and about participatinig in interfaith activities there.

Someone at work happened to notice her picture before the interview went to print and said that she had on a hijab (headscarf) and that there was no mention of it in the interview.Â To be honest, I didn’t even think to ask her aboutÂ it and she did not bring up the topic of the hijab either.

This made me wonder: If a Muslim woman wears a hijab, should the interviewer ask her why she chooses to wear it? And, if she has experienced discrimination on account of it, specially post 9/11?

Azra Haqqie

One Response

As-salaamu alaykum,
Good question. And I’m kind of glad you didn’t mention why she chose to wear it or not in the article. It seems to take away from the bigger picture (how this particular person contributes to society, etc). If the article was meant to focus on clothing, I’d expect it. But then again, this comes from someone who wears the hijaab.

Otherwise, most Muslim women (myself, included) who wear the hijaab don’t mind if someone asks them about it. Most would rather have dialogue than let presumptions take precedence. Hence this blog!